


Guys and Gals (and David), It's True

by ratlior



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary David, Nonbinary Nerris, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Trans Max, and im a csa survivor so hell no, btw there is no maxvid and never will be, cause I don't write fucking pedophilia, so i took matters into my own hands, theres not enough trans/nb david
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-22 16:37:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11971365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratlior/pseuds/ratlior
Summary: David, away from his home life and surrounded by some strange (queer?) youth, begins to question his own identity.





	1. Changes

**Author's Note:**

> David is nb and many campers are LGBT cause ~representation~ (also I love projecting onto him fcdsvgg)
> 
> sorry if this kinda sucks I wrote it all in 1 go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The arrival of the children makes David very confused.

As the sun rose, so did David. He followed his regular routine- get up, brush teeth, shower (or not, depending on if the plumbing felt like working that day), and get dressed. The only difference was that the campers weren't here yet. They would be arriving shortly, and the eager counselor was itching to meet them and begin their summer of fun.

Gwen was, unsurprisingly, still asleep- she had gotten to camp just last night, whereas David had been here for two days now. He knocked on the door, calling into the room that it was almost time. A faint groan told him she was awake, so he continued his trek to the mail. There was very little in it, save for a letter. It was from Campbell- David's face brightened as he opened up the slip and brought out a hand-written , addressed to him in particular;

_David,_

_I will, sadly, not be joining you and Gwen to greet the campers. Do not ask why, trust me, it's definitely all ok. But if anyone asks this letter does not exist._

_I have gotten a letter from one of the parents asking the counselors to "ask for names and pronouns" when greeting the campers. I honestly have no clue what this means, but to avoid conflict, do that. I guess it can't hurt, despite how stupid it seems._

_Remember, I DID NOT WRITE THIS LETTER,_

_Cameron Campbell_

David was equally as perplexed as his role model seemed to be, but he shrugged off. As Campbell said, asking for names and pronouns can't be harmful! Even if David didn't know why they wanted that.

Gwen was still in her cabin when David heard the clanking of bus wheels on rocks and vague yelling of children. This wasn't super surprising- she rarely made it out in time for anything- so David was prepared to greet them himself.

The bus crashed to a stop, and the doors whooshed open. A small, brown-skinned girl pranced out. Fake elf-ears were perched on top of her actual ears, and she had donned a small wizard cap. Her grin showed gleaming braces, and she bent down to roll a pair of dice before explaining.

"This place is full of ! Dad was right, this will be an eventful summer!" The girl gathered the red dice and stepped up to David.

"Hello, young lady! I'm David, one of the counselors here!" He leaned down to her, and suddenly remembered the "non-existent" letter.

"Oh-uh, name and pronouns?"

The elf-girl looked shocked for a second, before her smiled returned at full force.

"Why thank you, kind sir! I'm Nerris, I use they/them pronouns!"

David turned his head, confusion apparent on his face.

"How exactly does that work?"

"Its like when you're talking about someone, but you keep them a secret! So like, instead of "she was there", you'd say "they were there", get it? It's what people who aren't boys or girls use a lot!" Nerris said, hands on hips. David bit his lip, confused still, but smiled. If that's what she- they!- wanted!

"Alrighty, Nerris!"

Nerris seemed content with the conversation, and was soon followed by an angry-looking young girl and a curly-haired boy.

"Hello there! I'm David, a counselor! What are you're names? Uh- and pronouns?" David mentally reprimanded himself for almost forgetting.

The girl seemed to mumble something to the ground like "they do that here?" before looking up at David.

"I'm, uh... Max. Yeah. Max. And I use..." Max took a deep breath in. "He/him pronouns. Ok, you weirdo?"

David blinked, confused on how this girl was a boy, but again saved the questions till later. "Howdy Max!"

Max almost smiled- almost- and walked over next to David.

The rest of the greetings went either way- surpising, like with Max and Nerris, or normal, like with Neil, Nikki and Harrison. David felt lost in the answers they gave, lost in certain pronouns he didn't know how to use and lost in kids who's bodies didn't seem to match their responses. But he continued, and led the kids through an exciting tour of the camp. Gwen eventually met up with them when they got to the mess hall, sluggishly waving hello as she waited for her coffee to brew.

When the kids left to figure out their tents and unpack, David started talking to Gwen about his experience with Nerris and Max.

"It's simple, Davey. Nerris is nonbinary, and Max is probably a trans boy. Or transmasculine."

David stared blankly at the girl across from him.

"Ugh. David, c'mon, you're twenty four! How do you not know this? I'M transfeminine! Look it up, I'm going to go make sure they haven't set fire to their tents already."  
David was left at the table they had been sitting at, dumbfounded. Nonbinary? Trans? What?

Following Gwen's advice, he went to his room and got out his phone- something he tried not to use during the day- and typed in "what does trans mean?" to google. He watched it load, almost excruciatingly slowly. Normally he wouldn't mind much, but right now he felt desperate for the knowledge. Finally, the page came into view, and David started to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOF David is sheltered as heck
> 
> anyways in I hope y'all enjoyed this!! if you have any hcs for the rest of the campers feel free to suggest them!!
> 
> constructive criticism always welcome I'm prolly gonna write the next chapter soon cause I Need Trans/Nb David and there's like 1 other fic for that


	2. Research

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David begins to doubt himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY so I'm all hyped up on this and since I normally am on a permanent state of writer's block I'm getting my money's worth, soooo here's another chapter!!!! ft. angst David and kind of implied child abuse whoops

David had spent about 20 minutes looking down at his phone, researching. He had scrolled and scrolled through pages and articles. But something had unsettled him, deep in his core, and his thumbs hovered over the search bar. He couldn't. He wasn't! This was impossible.

He hit the bar. His shaking hands managed to type something close enough to "am I trans?" that it got results.

David was daunted by the long list of quizzes, but he took a deep breath and clicked on the first one.

_"What gender were you assigned at birth??"_

David hit "male", though the question made his head swim.

_"Do you identify with that gender?"_

David stared down the options: "no", "yes", and "I don't know." He wanted to hit "yes" desperately-but if he was honest with himself, he wasn't sure anymore. Building up the courage, he decided on "I don't know."

_"Do you ever feel uncomfortable with your body? Do you dislike certain aspects, especially your chest or genitalia?"_

He blushed at the question, but pushed past the embarrassment and thought about it.

He thought about all times he cringed at his body in the mirror. He was never the most masculine, but his body always seemed too tough and large for him. He didn't even want to say how he felt about... other parts of him. He reluctantly clicked "Yes, a lot."

_"Have you ever envied someone of the opposite sex?"_

David thought back to when he once saw a woman who's hair was short like a boys, and who's outfit was rugged and sharp. David had thought she was a boy at first before she started speaking. David thought it was cool that she looked like a blend of both genders. Did that count? He decided it did.

_"How would you feel using the pronouns of the "opposite" gender?"_

David cringed when he thought of being a "she." He clicked "I wouldn't like it."

_"How would you feel using gender neutral pronouns, like "they"?"_

His mind halted all thoughts. He remembered Nerris, who so confidently told him they were a they. He thought of himself in that position. He closed his eyes, imagining he was stepping into camp and being asked the same questions.

"I-I'm David and I use they/them pronouns." A smile edged onto his lips, though he wasn't sure why.

He thought of Campbell calling him "they." He thought of all the kids never calling him a boy again. He was grinning when he opened his eyes. Despite all this, he felt close to crying. Why?

He pressed forward, answering the question with "I would like it a lot". The quiz started to load up the answer, and David had a vice grip on his phone.

I can't be trans. I can't be nonbinary. My parents always said I was just being a teenager- I was just being a teenager. I don't have- what was it?- I don't have dysphoria! I don't have-

David looked down at the response.

_"From your answers, you sound like you are nonbinary! I suggest you research this and decide if it fits you. There are many genders most people don't know about, and you can't find what fits you best! Of course, it's all up to you."_

David wiped away the tears that had started to fall. He remembers his father- _"You are a boy, damnit. Stop this prissy shit, grow up and shut up before I make you."_ He remembered his mother- _"Its just normal teenage angst, Davey. Don't worry about it!"_

It wasn't. It wasn't.

David felt like the air had been magically taken from his body. He looked down at his shirt chest- it felt wrong. He got up and looked in the mirror- it felt wrong. Even his name felt like poison. His body was too well outlined in those clothes- he wanted to rip himself apart so he didn't have to look at it anymore.

David crumbled, sobbing into his arms. 10 minutes. He crawled away, and grabbed a water bottle. He slowly drank it, though his mind barely registered it. 20 minutes. His sobs has quieted, and he wiped as his eyes and nose. 30 minutes. He stood up, checking himself in the mirror to make sure he didn't look like he had just been crying.

David stepped out into the fast-dimming sunlight. Gwen had started setting up for the campfire. David didn't really want to be around others, but he had too. It was his job. So he put on a smile and jogged down to the campers. Gwen glanced up from her attempts to light a fire, and shot him a rare grin, before returning to cursing under her breath while trying to get a spark.

"H-hey guys! Sorry I had to go to-to so some paperwork! But now I'm here. I see everyone has met Gwen! That's great, she's an amazing co-counselor!" He addressed the group of antsy children, who were messing with each other and doing various activities while they waited. David bent down grabbed a matchbook from his vest pocket, and lit up the wood Gwen had gathered. She sighed in relief.

"Thanks David. Hey, everyone, David's gonna sing his stupid song now. Brace yourselves."

David would have been offended, but the fact she was letting him sing was a gift itself. He grabbed his ukulele, glad he could turn his thoughts away from gender and identities. But when he got a glimpse of Nerris across the fire, his facade broke for a second. He wondered if he could ever tell any of them.

"There's a place I know that's a tucked away, I place where you and I can stay!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyyy david has depression sorry about that
> 
> davids dad is lowkey abusive and David has always been lowkey dysphoric...... lowkey tho


	3. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David builds his confidence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY David is a very lost enby someone help him
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!

The sun rose on the second day of camp, but David didn't follow. He couldn't.

If he got up now, he'd have to face his body and gender and Gwen and the campers. And David did not want to do that.

He stayed in bed, staring up at the ceiling. His thoughts inevitably drifted to labels and what he was. It felt like the very fabric of his life was unraveling. What was he? Did he have to find out before telling them? What if he didn't have a label? What then?

He covered his eyes. Regardless of any crisis he had, there was a schedule that needed to be followed. Gwen depended on his eagerness and good sleep schedule to function, and he couldn't let her down! Not in this way, too.

He rushed through a condensed version of his routine, knocking on Gwen's cabin door before quickly moving off to the mess hall. He was hoping to avoid everyone for as long as possible. David made two cups of coffee and sighed. If only he had the ability to erase memories- maybe he could be normal again.

"David? You good?" Gwen called from the front of the room. David snapped back to reality to see Gwen walking over to him, concern evident.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, one, you were fifteen minutes late. Two, you didn't do you're normal, cherry "hello" today. And just now, you were sipping coffee while looking sadly into the distance." Gwen took the second coffee. "So, I repeat, you good?"

David laughed softly and shrugged. "You know me- I'm always good!"

Gwen's face didn't change,however, but remained worried as she drank her coffee. "No one's always good, Davey. Remember that you can always talk to me if you're sad, right?"

David patted her shoulder in an attempt to relax her. "Yeah, of course, Gwen. Same to you!"

Gwen stared into his eyes, searching for something. But she let go and smiled. "Aight, Davey. I'll wake up the campers." And with that, David was once again alone in the building.

Maybe he could tell Gwen. She said something about being trans, right? And he barely knew anything about her personal life, so she could obviously keep a secret. _Yes._ He told himself, balling a fist. He could do this. He would tell her! And if she didn't accept him... he'd do something. He make it a joke. And then he'd cry himself to sleep.

David didn't have any more time to think, as a group of children burst in with a crash. David smiled at the sight of them- so eager and ready for the day! Well, at least Nikki sure was.

The morning past by without anyone noticing it. The first activity- a walk through the forest- went by without much activity, save for Nikki tackling a deer and refusing to let it go until Gwen managed to pull her off. They moved to some sort of meditation anger-management exercise, which went surprisingly well. Though, Max and Nikki seemed to be significantly dirtier and tired when he opened his eyes than before. The only thing that he didn't like was how long it took for the exercise to end- he had too much time to _think._

Lunch rolled around, and David had not yet managed to say anything to Gwen. She stood there, phone in hand and eyes attached to the screen, yet David could not go up to here. He stood, stiff, in the corner and did not speak once. Not even when he ever-so-clearly heard Max yell a profanity, than again, then again. He didn't say a word until Max was directly in front of him, and kicked his leg.

"Ow!- Hey, why'd you do that?"

"You've just been... _staring_ at Gwen, looking like you're gonna cry. You haven't spoken once. What, second day and you're already breaking under my will?" Max's smirk and prodding caused David's defenses to spring up. He picked up the child and seated him back with his friends, though his efforts to be calm were very much stopped by his obvious blushing.

"Now, now, Max, I'm fine- you need to finish your lunch!" He quickly spat out a counselor-y response, and just as Max was preparing to question him further, an alarm rang and it was time to go to rehearsal.

Preston passed out little packets and told each camper their role. The play was short, only one act, and was "very meta" but also "zombie-related", according to the eccentric thespian who was gathering everyone in a circle to read their lines.

David was given the role of "zombie", which he found enjoyable. Gwen was also a zombie, which Max joked "fits her perfectly, she's already a soulless, lifeless monster." Gwen's clipboard shut him up soon enough.

After the long rehearsal- which only lasted that long due to Preston's constant directing advice and certain camper's noncompliance- and a dinner interrupted by a short-lived food fight, everyone was heading off to bed. The campers continued their loud noises and angry yelling inside their dimly light camps, while the two counselors headed up to their cabins.

David hesitated opening his door- their cabin's were quite close, and as Gwen fumbled with her keys, he built up the confidence to talk to her.

_On the count of five._

_Onetwothreefourfive- !_

"Hey, um, Gwen? Could I talk to you about something?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha I'm sorry but I love a good cliff hanger agsgdf
> 
> Gwen's here, she's queer and she's gonna listen 2 David be a distressed mess
> 
> also the play I have in mind is something I actually did in 7th grade (I was a lead, I was AMAZING)


End file.
